It must have set some kind of record when “about three thousand persons were added that day.” How fitting that it belongs to Peter, the first pope, as a result of his magnificent speech in Jerusalem. What was his strategy? We are only introduced to it briefly in the small selection we read today of his lengthy discourse: “Let the whole house of Israel know for certain that God has made both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.” That message he preached must have been tough for his hearers to receive, as it implicated them as being directly responsible for the death of the Messiah. But the report of its impact follows directly: “Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart.”
Everyone remembers kerygmatic moments like this, when simple fact of Christ’s death and resurrection hits us a very deep, convicting, personal level. It would be nice to know how exactly Peter “testified with many other arguments.” We all have people in our lives who need conversion, and some pro tips could help. His epistle keeps consistent with the sharp tone, which overfamiliarity has rendered less disturbing for us: “He himself bore our sins in his body upon the cross” and (quoting the prophet Isaiah’s suffering servant reflections) “By his wounds you have been healed.” He doesn’t hesitate to remind his people, including us: “you had gone astray.” Several indications in these texts emphasize his fervor: he “raised his voice” and “was exhorting them.” There was no shying away from proclaiming the tough truth, and it produced the desired effect.
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This scene unfolded on Pentecost, traditionally considered the birthday of the Church. It may have been Peter speaking, but he was a human vessel of God’s Spirit communicating to the people assembled. No mortal arguments or witnesses are ever sufficient. Repentance ultimately comes from the Lord, but it comes through other believers, especially those entrusted with our spiritual care.
The Good Shepherd appointed shepherds to act in His stead: the structure of the Church was established in the Biblical Era in the Apostolic College, the bishops, led by the Supreme Pontiff with the priests and deacons in collaboration with them. The very same system, developed over the Christian centuries, remains in effect today. Maintaining our close unity with the ecclesiastical hierarchy instituted by Christ and led by His Vicar on earth, the Pope, is crucial because it guarantees our union with Him.
There are many strange voices in the world still today, even ones which seem to single us out personally and make rather persuasive cases, perhaps even with spiritual and Scriptural language. However, they don’t guide us by the example of their holiness. For “the shepherd calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has driven out all his own, he walks ahead of them, and the sheep follow him.” Sticking close to the flock, we “recognize his voice.” The unthinking herd mentality is often criticized, and rightly so; but together we are follow the Divine Herdsman, whom St. Peter calls “the shepherd and guardian of your souls.” We will never be led astray by Him. “He guides me in right paths for his name’s sake.” The Lord deems it advantageous to have an organized community context for plodding the way of faith as we “walk in the dark valley” of our earthly grazing grounds.
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That sacred society called the Church must be entered through Him, on His terms, to receive His protection: “Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever does not enter a sheepfold through the gate but climbs over elsewhere is a thief and a robber” for “Whoever enters through me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture.” Every imposter and intruder “comes only to steal and slaughter and destroy” but, in an astonishing contrast, it is only Christ who “suffered for you, leaving you an example that you should follow in his footsteps.”
In this way, our clergy sacrifice their entire lives in service to their flocks; we even call our parish priests “pastors.” They sacramentally act in the person of Christ in conveying grace to us as human instruments. Safely in their charge, we share in a supernatural union, joined to all the believing souls throughout the world and down the course of history. The Catholic Faith is proclaimed and lived now with the same credibility that Peter had making those earliest converts, all because “the Lord is my shepherd.”